St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-06-15

quarter. Cndrlle Gilman leaves his quiet
home in StearS twice week and seeks
two back offices in Minneapolis, where
are held the consultations once sacred to
takes his jOinted rod and rides softly to
Kandiyohi, where he fishes in the still
waters of Albert Rice's preserves with
Representative Reese to point out the
choice localities. Knute Nelson loads
himself up with railroad statistics and
fires them Off to approving and applaud
ing crowds of electors at MankatO. A.
Il. Rice tiptOes down to st. Paul and
Minneapolis and holds secret councils
with tried men, Versed in the real estate
business.
All of these are after something.
Knute Nelson has agreed to abdicate
his seat in congress in favor of his old
friend and comrade. Charles A. Gilman
who has for so long, as Loren Fletcher
pathetically expresses it, ''ornamented
the tail of his band wagon" and Gil
man has formed an alliance with Charlie
Pillsbury, offensive and defensive. Old
scores have been crossed with red ink
and new account opened up between
them. Knute Nelson has no intention
of abandoning politics. He carries the
Fifth district in his pocket. and he is a
candidate for governor, with the ulti-
mate object of going to the United
States senate. Albert E. Rice,
after having successfully guided the
deliberations of the state house of
lords, is determined to sit in the execu-
tive chair and to that end has been jul
numerous promising localities. w. r.
Merriam, the st. Paul banker, has his
eyes fixed on the same goal and is put
ing in quiet work everywhere, having
already put his collar upon trusty lieu
tenants throughout the state. Nelson
does not care particularly about sue
ceeding McGill, except for the prestige
it would bring to his canvass for SEN
atOr and the potency it would
lend his voice in naming legis-
lative candidates in various doubt
ful districts. Though Albert Rice
showed himself, in the last campaign,
to be sagacious beyond his years and,
though he led his ticket nearly every
where. he has neither the hold of Mel
son nor the engineering faculties of
Merriam. Rice and Nelson are both
NOrwegians, and in this contest, Mer-
rlam is Swede. The result can easily
be foreseen. The two Norwegians will
throttle each other and Merriam will
walk over their Writhing forms to the
nomination. While either of the others
Is, perhaps, of greater personal strength
then Merriam, he is more than their
match in the knowledge of caucus and
convention manipulation and besides
has the better control of the machine,
with its gripe on the neck of the Republic
can voters. Other things being equal,
he will walk away with the nomination,
and while knute Nelson cools his wrath
again in the waters of Victoria lake,
Rice will drown his disappointment in
Willmar lake and Merriam will drown
opposition in unlimited quantities of
Pommery Sec at st. Paul.
Then a diversion will come.
DlSaffectlon will spread among the
ScandinaylanS until it is concluSiVely
shown that Merriam is the descendant
of viking. Minor offices Will be given
out among the Scandinavians and peace
will be restored, but while Patrocles
Merriam is going forth to battle alone,
Ulysses Rice will sow salt and Achilles
Nelson will sulk in his tent until the
proper time arrives for him to assume
the role OF martyr candidate for the
senate, or until Halvor SteenerSon has
negotiated with the Democrats deal by
which Knute will be their candidate for
something and get the entire Scandi-
naVian vote.
This is year or more from now.
One event will intervene and may
change the whole programme.
About year from this time the state
will be plunged into the throes of the
preliminary presidential contest and a
show of hands in that SkirmiSh may give
new color to the state campaign. If the
state declareS-I mean if few political
engineers shall declare-for a certain
presidential candidate. the state ticket
mo no nrl,-
is highly probable history will repeat
itself and the delegation sent to the ma
tiOnal convention will not begin to rep
resent the sentiment of the state. In
SS4,with the popular sentiment strongly
for Blaine, the Minnesota delegation
was mainly for Arthur, though veiled
beneath seeming partiality for Ed
munds or Washburn. The same
is probable next time. The
state is now for Blaine-at least the
masses are-but the leading politicians
are anti-Blaine, and it is altogether
likely that the juggerly OF caucus and
chicanery of convention will again de-
feat the will of the people. 1t is signif-
G. A. Pillsbury, c.. X. Davis and others
of prominence have announced them
selves for Blaine, and that Col. Charley
johnson has followed suit, though al
ways an outspoken anti-Blaine man,
EmiSSarieS of John Sherman, Allison
and Blaine have already made myster-
lOuS visits to Minnesota, the latest hav-
ing been the adrjit Reed, from the
Bangor, Me-, district, who kept Gen.
Washburn from church on Sunday
while they discussed the ways and
means of keeping the state in line for
the Plumed Knight.
The Democrats will have none of this.
The state is overwhelmingly for
Cleveland, and the only fact in this con-
nectiOn that strikes me with any force
is that Mayor Ames, of Minneapolis,
has declared for Gov. Hill. OF course
AmeS will want to go as delegate to
the national convention, and, with the
popular tide, nothing would be easier,
even If it became necessary to defeat
his personal and political friend and
enemy, E. NJ. Wilson; but how Ames,
with Hill as his choice, can expect to
represent Cleveland state is a problem
which he has probably wrought out, but
which L leave unSOlved.
When all of this has blown over and
president been safely nominated the
state campaign will warm up, and, with
a more correct idea of relative strength,
the leaders will get in their work. Citi-
ZenS who are anxious to succeed ID. NJ.
Sabin will begin to make them
selves numerous, so far as
ubiquity goes, though the conspicuous
ones might easily be counted on the fin
gers of one hand. w. d. Washburn
stood aside for Cush Davis and will now
expect like favors from younger aSpir-
ants. His plans are we'll laid and his
canvass has already practically begun,
under the leadership of the sagacious
politician, Col. c. w. Johnson. Mai.
Horace b. Strait, who got his education
chiefly under the dome of the capitol at
way to escape the inevitable, last fall,
has been iudustriously working the
soldier element to the same end and
will be sadly disappointed if he gis not
the new senator. Knute Nelson is dis